Title: SACRED VESSELS—HOLY FEAR

Focus: In our daily living, we must use sacred symbols and vessels to express a holy fear or reverence to God.

Function: To call upon the congregation to honor God with the sacred symbols and vessels he has given us, such as the Scriptures, the sacraments, the church, and the human body.

Text: Daniel 5:1-12

In the year 605 B.C, King Nebuchadnezzar sacked the City of Jerusalem, stole the sacred vessels from the temple of God in Jerusalem, and led a host of Jews, including Daniel and his friends, into exile. Daniel ended up at the royal court of Babylon, and remained God’s ambassador at the palace of Babylon’s kings. Those kings included Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson called Belshazzar.

In the year 538 B.C.—when Daniel and the remnant of Jews had been in Babylon for about 70 years--the Persian King Cyrus appeared on the scene of history. He killed Babylon’s rulers, and he took over the Babylonian empire. That marked the beginning of the Jews’ return to Jerusalem. That was also the time when King Cyrus allowed the rebuilding of the temple, and the return of God’s sacred vessels to the temple in Jerusalem.

Today, Daniel 5 confronts us with these sacred vessels from Jerusalem’s temple and Israel’s God. As we enter that story of King Belshazzar and his nobles drinking from the gold and silver vessels of Israel’s God, I want to ask you a question: What is the common thread that holds the following items together: the Scriptures—the sacraments—the church—and the human body? Answer: these are sacred vessels and symbols. And when it comes to our daily living as Christians, we must use sacred symbols and vessels to express reverence or a holy fear of God.

Let me clarify: The Scriptures do not only contain the Word of God; they are the Word of God. In a mysterious, dynamic way, God dwells in and reveals himself in the Scriptures. Therefore, we speak of the Holy Scriptures. The Scriptures, then, is a holy vessel.

The sacraments are sacred signs and seals: The Lord’s Supper, for example, signifies the sacrificial work of the Lord Jesus, and the Lord’s Supper points to Christ’s very own presence in our lives. In fact, when we eat the bread and drink the cup, the Spirit of God communicates to us the presence of Christ by drawing us mysteriously in the throne room of God, where Christ reveals himself as ruler over all.

Likewise, in baptism, the Triune God lays claim on us, and grants us his Holy Spirit, along with the promise that the blood of Christ washes away all our sins. With the baptismal promise comes also God’s claim on us: that we are to live in faith unto him and acknowledge and profess him in our daily living. The sacraments are holy symbols, sealing to us the presence, promise, and claim of God on our lives.

The church, too, is a sacred vessel. The church is the body of Christ. Jesus is the head, the source of all of life, including eternal life given to God’s people called the “Church.” The Holy Spirit gathers and unites all believers—throughout the centuries—into one body. Christ draws us into himself, connects us with him and enters into our lives, so that we are one with him, indwelt by him. Therefore, the church of Christ is a sacred vessel.

So it is also with our bodies. Christians must always view their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the Spirit of God dwells within us and seeks to sanctify and transform us in the image of Christ. Therefore, our bodies, the church, the sacraments, and the Scriptures are sacred vessels and symbols.

We must learn to use these sacred symbols and vessels to express a holy fear of God. For if there is one thing that Daniel 5 teaches us, it’s this: sacred vessels—holy fear: these go together.

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In order to get a handle on the story in Daniel 5, we need to make some observations: First of all, take note of the time: The Babylonian empire is coming to its end. Its glory days are over. King Cyrus, ruler of Persia, is on the rise—and on the move.

In fact, he has already sacked a number of major cities in Babylonia. Belshazzar’s father, for example, “had moved his palace from Babylon 500 miles away to the Arabian peninsula at Tema” (James Jordan). That area was no longer under Babylon’s control. King Cyrus has already conquered that area, and now he is ready to lay siege against the capitol City of Babylon. A new era, a new empire is on the rise. Cyrus is “knocking” on Babylon’s doors.

Secondly, note that Belshazzar—who is in all likelihood the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar—is having a banquet for 1000 of his nobles. They are all together in Babylon’s royal palace. Why? These nobles are governors; they have left their own palaces in the provinces of the empire, because King Cyrus is on the move; he is unstoppable. And thus these nobles have drawn back to the capitol City of Babylon, because they believe it’s the safest place to be.

Why this banquet? Why this drinking of wine? Could it be to quiet their fears and to forget their anxiety for a moment? Could it be because the King and his nobles feel safe and secure in their conclave called Babylon? We don’t know for sure. But the party is on and the booze is out! Eat, drink, and be merry, for who knows if there will be a tomorrow.

Thirdly, being under stress and needing help from the gods, the King and his nobles drink to their gods. After all, if the gods abandon them in this time of peril, who will save them from King Cyrus? King Belshazzar wants to be sure that prayers are made to all the gods, including the God of the Jews. That’s what pagans do in their time of trouble: they want to be sure that no god is left out. For offending the gods is never a good idea.

What Belshazzar, however, has forgotten is what his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar had learned the hard way: that the God of the Jews is the Most High God. And that Daniel is the mouthpiece and representative of this Most High God.

Ignorant, tipsy Belshazzar calls for the sacred vessels of Israel’s God. He fills it with wine, shares the vessels with his nobles, their wives and their concubines. And as they drank the wine, “they praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone.” You see, they put their trust and safety in these gods of “precious metals, and steel, and wood and stone.” And thus they desecrate the vessels of Israel’s God by praising the idols of Babylon.

Think of it: Only Israel’s priests, the Levites, could pour out libations from these golden vessels of the Lord. Only the Levites in the temple were to lift up these vessels in prayer, praise and petition to Israel’s God. But now Babylon’s king and nobles profane or desecrate these vessels and insult the God of Israel by toasting their idols and by singing their praises, and by expressing their trust in the gods of gold, iron, wood, and stone. This is blasphemy of the highest order!

And God won’t stand for it!

Observation number four: “Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.” King Belshazzar is scared stiff. It’s kind of funny: the advancing Cyrus, King of Persia, Belshazzar thinks he can handle. But this writing on the wall leaves him speechless and out of his wits. Judgment is coming!

Moving away from these four observations, consider now the following insights:

The handwriting on the wall signifies God’s displeasure with the King and nobles of Babylon. They are desecrating the sacred vessels of the Most High God. They should have known better. That becomes clear from Belshazzar’s queen mother. She reminds him of his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, and his dealings with Daniel, and the God of Daniel. The queen mother has more horse sense than her tipsy, scared-out-of-his-wits son. And she urges him to call Daniel. For only Daniel can explain the meaning of that writing on the wall.

Also, the handwriting on the wall leads to Daniel being called out of the royal closet of forgetfulness into the limelight of the empire. As King Cyrus is waiting to take over the empire, it’s time for Israel’s God to bring home the remnant Jews. For God had promised that the exile into Babylon would end for many Jews when the King of Persia would arrive on the scene of history. A new age is dawning. And Daniel announces that new age, as he interprets the handwriting on the wall and pronounces judgment on Babylon’s kings and nobles for desecrating the sacred vessels of God.

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The Book of Daniel is loaded with relevant teachings for Christians today. In chapter 5 we learn that in our daily living, we must use sacred symbols and vessels to express reverence and a holy fear of God. Earlier, I asked you: What is the common thread that holds the following items together: the Scriptures—the sacraments—the church—and the human body? The answer? These are sacred vessels and symbols.

So let’s explore how Christians can (and at times do) desecrate these sacred vessels, and more importantly how we express reverence and fear of God in relation to these sacred vessels.

Take the Scriptures, for example. I had a teacher who once told us how his father had bought a new Bible and buried his tattered, old, well-read and studied Bible. He did so out of reverence for God’s Word. This man could not, in good conscience, trash his old Bible into a trash can. He lovingly buried it—out of fear or reverence for God. Perhaps you find such behavior odd or weird—but this Christian man did recognize that the Word of God is a sacred vessel. He expressed his reverence in this seemingly odd way.

Yet, his behavior is more commendable than the behavior of us who have five Bibles somewhere at home, but never read them or study them. Desecration of God’s Word is happening all the time in our circles by all who fail to nurture their faith by reading the Scriptures, who fail to reform their lives by obeying the Scriptures, and by all who refuse to cast out their ignorance of God’s ways for us by closing their eyes to the Bible.

The Scriptures is a sacred vessel by which God makes himself known to us: we must daily drink from these Scriptures and express our fear or reverence to God by making the Scriptures a central source of faith for daily living. Sacred vessels—holy fear: these go together.

Take the sacraments, for example. “How do we desecrate the Lord’s Supper?” you ask. We do when we eat the bread and drink the cup, while failing to forgive our neighbor or refuse to be reconciled with a brother or sister. We profane the bread and cup on Sundays if we are unwilling to live as Christians and followers of Christ throughout the rest of the week.

“How do we desecrate the sacrament of baptism?” you ask. We do when we sin blatantly and live as if we are in control of life ourselves. We profane our baptism when we make promises to live for Christ and declare his praise, but raise our children like pagans or conduct our businesses like crooks and cheaters alike.

The sacraments are sacred vessels or holy symbols. We show reverence to Christ when we eat the bread and drink the cup with sincerity of heart and with a deep resolve to yield our lives—every day—as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. We show fear of God when we live out of our baptism, dying to sin, standing up for what is right in the sight of Christ. We show reverence and fear of God when we stand up for Jesus, simply because we are his. We belong to him. Sacred vessels—holy fear: these go together.

Take the church, for example. Christians are quick to affirm the Bible’s teaching that the church is the body of Christ. But look around you. Ask yourself, how do people, how do you and I, treat the church of Christ? How do we think of the church? How many Christians will argue that they can do without the church? How many of our sons and daughters will say that they “dig” Jesus, but can’t stand the church? And how many Christians today treat the church of Christ like a shopping mall?

The church is the body of Christ, the apple of his eye. But when you consider the attitude of many Christians toward the church today, you get the distinct impression that the church can be ignored, castigated, or simply discarded. I beg to differ. I hope you do too.

We honor Christ by cherishing his body--by joining it through baptism, by vibrant participation in the life and mission of the church, and by making it a better place, a healthy community of grace, of hospitality, and of living faith. The church is the body of Christ. It’s a sacred vessel. Sacred vessels—holy fear: these go together.

If that’s the case, then tell me: what shall we do with that sacred vessel called “the human body?” Paul writes to the church in Corinth and he warns those members who desecrate their bodies by way of sexual immorality, by dishonoring God’s intent for marriage, and by exhibiting devious sexual behavior. “Do you not know,” says the apostle Paul, “that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” (I Cor. 6:19-20).

Belshazzar and his nobles fooled around with God’s sacred vessels. A handwriting appeared on the wall. Judgment is coming!

Can Christians fool around with sacred symbols or vessels and escape judgment? I don’t think so. In our daily living, we must use sacred symbols and vessels to express a reverence or holy fear of God. Our body, the church, the sacraments and the Scriptures—all these are instruments or vessels in the hand of God. Honor God with these vessels. Now and always. Amen!